You Mean Everything
by Valy Bee
Summary: Rose is a young aspiring artist. Her childhood best friend is Dimitri Belikov, who happens to be the lead singer of the extremely popular rock band, RDR. While Dimitri's life is blurred with parties, tours and screaming fans, Rose attends a performing arts school. After nine months touring in Europe, Dimitri is back and he's about complicate things for Rose. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Chapter 1

_**Original Date Posted**: 9.23.12_

_**Edited & Reposted**: 9.22.13_

_**Disclaime**r: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of the characters. However, the plot and original contents of this story belong to me, Valy Bee. Please do not copy, translate, reproduce this story without a written permission from me._

_**FULL SUMMARY**: Rose Hathaway is a young aspiring artist. Her childhood best friend is Dimitri Belikov, who happens to be the lead singer of the extremely popular rock band, RDR. While Dimitri's life is blurred with parties, tours and screaming fan girls, Rose attends one of the most prestigious performing arts universities, Royal Arts. __As the school year draws to an end, Rose prepares for "The Big Showcase," an audition performance which can determine whether or one she can get a contract with some of the nation's well known music agencies. But with the news of Dimitri returning to the city and enrolling back to Royal Arts, things might get a bit complicated for Rose's future plans._

_Read & Enjoy :)_

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**_Chapter One_**

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"OMG! He's coming back!" Avery Lazar squealed.

"Ekkk! No way!" shrieked an even louder Camille Conta.

"Yes way! He's sister was here earlier talking with Kirova!"

I winced listening to their squeal-and-scream conversation; my fingertips instantly stroke the strings of my acoustic-electric guitar downward and upward in a constant momentum until there was melody going. I knew the sound was not enough to tune them out, but it was a start to get their attention, or at least to get them to acknowledge me.

I'd been sitting in a stool with a music stand, blank music sheets and a guitar for the past thirty minutes trying helplessly to come up with new lyrics for a song. Then, Avery and Camille decided to stroll in the practice room uninvited. But what pissed me off the most was they were gossiping - no, gossiping was an understatement - they were screaming instead of working on their music like everyone else in the room. That's what a practice room was for, practice!

It's not like I was focused though. I haven't been since Alberta Petrov, my mentor, told me this morning about who was enrolling back to the Royal Arts. Of course, I already knew this. He called me on the phone several weeks ago to give me the news. I was just not expecting him so soon. It's one of the reasons why Alberta caught me off guard earlier.

Now, I felt like a total wreck. I haven't even had the time to mentally pep talk myself for when he shows up here. What would I do then? What would I say to him? I haven't seen him for the past nine months since he left for his tour in Europe. I wasn't even sure how handle the fact that my best friend was a famous rock star.

"He's coming back! OMG! We should have a welcome party for him or something!" I heard Camille exclaim.

"A party would totally earn us points with him!" Avery screeched.

"Yeah, did you read this month's article in Golden Lily?! He confessed that he's still single and searching! We totally have a chance to be his girlfriend!" squealed Camille.

"Well, at least one of us could." Avery said saucily as she began to twirl her silky, perfect black hair around her fingertips. It was obvious she was picturing herself as the girlfriend as a famous rock star.

"OMG! He is so gorgeous! He would make the perfect boyfriend!" Camille squealed excitedly as she clasped her hands together like a little five year old.

I sighed exasperatedly wishing the sound of my guitar would just tune them out completely. I needed to have at least one verse done for this afternoon's session with Stan or else he was going to kill me. And their screaming wasn't helping.

Setting aside my guitar, I got up and placed my hands on my hips. "Can you girls please keep it down or leave? He's just a guy and I need to finish my song." I said frustrated.

Turning to face me, Avery and Camille stared at me like my head had shrunk the size of a pin.

"OMG! How could you say that? Dimitri Belikov is a Russian God!" Camille protested.

_Very easily when I'm pissed off and frustrated_, I answered mentally to myself.

"How could say that about him? Isn't he like your bff or something, _Rosemarie_?" Avery accused. Her blue eyes narrowed.

I returned the stare. Avery knew well how much I hated when people called me by my full name. I have corrected her a million times at this point since we have known each other. "He is but that's beside the point. I need to finish a very important song!" I retorted.

Camille raised a surprised eye brow at my outburst while Avery walked toward me and glance at the blank music sheet lying still on the music stand. I flinched when a self-satisfied smile formed on her lips.

"What song? You haven't even written a single chord or note.l"

"Seriously?" Camille gasped as she walked toward us. "Don't you need to have at least one verse done for your session with Stan?" I nodded. "Then why haven't you written anything? You have like twenty minutes left." she pointed out the obvious thing.

I glared at her. Of course, I knew how much time I had left and she and Avery were wasting most of it.

Avery must have sense my blood boiling because she decided to end our conversation short. "Well it was nice talking to you Rosemarie but I have better things to do than to listen to your mental breakdown." she said sarcastically and turned to Camille. "Come on, Cami. Let's get ready. I need to look beautiful for when Dimitri arrives."

Camille waved bye as she followed the Lazar witch out through the exit. It amazes me how many of these girls throw themselves at Dimitri when they don't know a single thing about him! The majority of them didn't even acknowledge him while he was still a student at Royal Arts. Now he was famous and they all wanted him?

If Avery, Camille, or any other girls in the planet bothered to get to know him, they would have known that Dimitri Belikov doesn't like parties.

Oh, what a disappointment they were going to get when he arrives.

Smiling satisfied at the possibility. I took a seat on the stool and worked on a quick verse.

Why couldn't I be creative like the Dimitri Belikov and write songs?


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the songs display in this chapter._

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_**Chapter Two**_

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My fingers fidgeted on my sides as I waited nervously for Stan to say something about my verse. It amazes me how I actually care about what he might think, when in the past I would rolled my eyes at him, and whined about him to my best friend Lissa after this session is over. _I must be going soft_. I snorted at the thought and shook my head. I'm hardly softy.

Stan tore his eyes from the music sheet and glanced at me with a curious look.

My smile dropped and I found myself returning a serious stare. Stan doesn't appreciate humor or happy people. He wants everyone to be bitter and miserable like him.

"Miss Hathaway do you find something amusing?" he asked sternly.

I shook my heard 'no' vigorously. "No, none at all, Stan." I mocked.

His eyes narrowed. Stan knew exactly what I was doing. It's one of the many reasons why he can't stand me. My disrespectfulness. To be honest, I haven't been the easiest student he has had since freshman year. When I enrolled to Royal Academy, I was a cocky eighteen year old trying to show off my vocals and music composition skills, but I hardly took well criticism. I would snap or start arguments with people who pissed me off intentionally or unintentionally. It's the reason why Stan and I didn't hit off well on the first day of class. He told me I was trying too hard, my performance was fake. Of course, I took this negatively. I did not understand how I was being fake when I was the only student who sang an original song. Even all my classmates cheered and applauded. I figured Stan was a bitter old man with no taste in music, so I called him a bad insulator, which another word for a poor conductor in the music industry. Stan took it offensively and kicked me out his class. I ended up skipping his class for a whole week until Alberta forced me to apologize, but ever since then, Stan and I do not get along.

I'm not still sure why he accepted to be my vocal instructor this semester. I thought he was going to say no when I signed up for individual sessions. Stan only takes in his favorites students, but he took me in away. He probably did it just to torture me with his strict vocal techniques since he can't do that in class.

Stan said nothing more as his eyes return to the music sheet. I glanced at the clock on the wall. I have only been here for ten minutes but it felt like ten hours. Why was he taking too long to criticize? I only wrote like four lines.

"Well, Miss Hathaway, let's hear you sing the song." he said not bothering to asked me for my opinion or even spare me glance. He simply walked over to his piano and took a seat and placed the music sheet on the stand.

I stood there confused trying to process what he just said. I wasn't expecting to sing today. Most classes had been cancelled or cut short because the school was welcoming '_the_' Dimitri Belikov and his band RDR (_Red Dead Redemption_) to campus. There was going to be an assembly and a performance by Tasha Ozera in less than an hour. I figured I would only show Stan my new verse and then leave because I really needed to get to the lobby for when Dimitri arrives. I promised him I would be there.

"Hathaway," I heard Stan growling. I sighed exasperatedly. Leave to Stan to be all work and no fun.

Disappointed, I walked over to the piano. I cleared my throat. "Don't I need to warm up first?" I asked evenly with a small smile.

Stan face darkened and I flinched. I guess he didn't like my suggestion. "Are you telling me you didn't warm up before class? You know the rules, Hathaway." he sneered.

"Of course, I know the rules. I was just asking since you didn't bother to ask me like you always do before class." Ha! Good cover up. I mentally patted myself on the shoulder. Stan would have punished me for not warming up with brutal vocal techniques until my diaphragm hurts.

"Just sing the verse." he demanded. His fingers pressed the keys down once again. My mouth opened to sing the words out on cue.

_You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say_

_I'm talking loud, not saying much_

_I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet_

_You shoot me down, but I get up_

I prepared myself to stopped singing as I reached the final words to the song. But Stan's long fingers continued pressing down on the keys furiously like he was a possessed man. It was very complex and skillfully. I was dumbstruck by how well his chords matched with what I had originally wrote, except I wouldn't have come up with something like that on my own. Was this the reason why Stan was a brilliant artist? Because he can write a song out of nothing.

Mesmerized, I listened to the rhythm, trying to come up with my own lyrics in my head. It amazed me how it was easier to do this now than a couple of hours ago. I couldn't come up with any lyrics for almost a whole day. Then, Stan starts playing and suddenly my mind was being bombarded with words.

A minute later, Stan stopped. He regains his posture and looked up at me with an irritating smile as if he was showing off. "…And that's how a real artist does it, Miss Hathaway." he stood up, returning me my pathetic music sheet.

"How do you do it? I mean write a whole song like that without stopping to think which chords sound good together or what words to sing to the rhythm?" I asked still in shocked.

"Thinking is your problem. Music should come from here." he said, pointing at his heart. "And not from here." he pointed at his head.

I blinked. Stan was a confusing teacher. Last session, he told me to think with my head to come up with the lyrics. Now he was telling me not think? Why couldn't he make up his mind? I folded my arms over my chest and gave him a challenging look. "How I am supposed to write a song from the heart when I still need to think of the lyrics off my head? Use my head, isn't that what you told me last session?"

"A real artist knows how to use both their heart and head to write a song. If you can't do that Miss Hathaway then I advise you to change careers. I'm sure you'll find job that suits you outside music industry. Perhaps a restaurant critic, I hear you think better with your stomach than your head." he mocked as he opened the door from his studio for me. He wasn't being polite. He was kicking me out, I realized. Not only that, he just insulted me just like everyone at this stupid school does. Again.

It took me all my self-control not to shout back a snarky remark as I grabbed my bag and marched toward the door. A part of me was pissed off for allowing myself to care what he thought of my lyrics. Another part was really pissed off for spending all those hours coming up with lyrics for nothing. I should have known not to get my hopes when it came to getting Stan's approval. He doesn't care how hard I try; he'll still put me down.

I only made it three feet out of his studio when Stan called out to me. I stopped to listen but I refused to turn around to face him.

"I expect a complete written song for our next session." he said.

Next session? I thought about today. It was Wednesday. My next session with Stan wasn't until Friday. That only gave me two days to come up with a whole song! My eyes grew wide as realization hit me like a bus. Was he insane? He knew damn well how I was struggling with this. It took me almost all day just to come up with one verse. Plus, I had other classes to think about. He couldn't expect me to have a song done by then.

Turning around to face him, I glared. "That's not fair! I only have two days! Not to mention I have other songs to practice for other class!" I whined.

"Then I advise you to start right away. I'll see you on Friday, Miss Hathaway." with that he shut his door.

I was left gaping like a gold fish.

_**~.~.YME.~.~**_

"Then I advise you to start right away. I'll see you Friday, Miss Hathaway." I mimicked Stan's words as I walked in the direction of my dorm. God, I hate him. He such a…"Jerk!" I spoke out loud without realizing.

People nearby gave me weird out looks like I was some crazy person. But honestly, I didn't care. I was too pissed off to care.

"Whoa, talking to yourself again Hathaway?" Mason Ashford, one of my closest friends at Royal Arts teased as he intercepted me in the lobby.

The lobby was packed with pushy and squealing girls everywhere. There was little room for breathing or walking. I felt claustrophobic just by being here. But what surprised me was seeing several guys in the mix. I thought all male species would have stay far away from the lobby as possible, or at least for a few minutes until the chaos dies down.

Mason's arm slung around my shoulders as he pulled me closer to him. A playful smile could be found in those soft lips.

I giggled and punched his free shoulder lightly. "Of course not, Ashford. I'm only stating the truth out loud."

"Which is…" he prompted.

"That Stan is a jerk." I said louder, not caring if people heard me or not. It didn't matter, though. Almost everyone was too preoccupied with watching the entrance anyway.

"What did he do now?" Mason asked sternly. His playfulness dropped a notch. I knew he was concerned. Mason is one of the few people at Royal Arts, who thought Stan acted unprofessional toward me by being unfair.

I appreciate his loyalty, but we still had two years to get through and I didn't want him to get in Stan's bad side. After all, Mason is sort of one of Stan's favorites. He didn't need me to ruin his time while we're at Royal. So I did what I always did to drive away the issue, dismissed it and act like I don't care.

I shrugged indifferently, "He wants me to have a complete written song by Friday."

"Is that all? I thought it was something more serious." Mason laughed.

"Mason! That's not funny." I tried to sound serious but I couldn't contain a smile that was forming in my lips.

"Oh come on, Hathaway. You have to admit that's not the worst thing Stan has done to you." Mason said.

I pouted. "It is when I'm having a hard time writing anything these days."

"Maybe you need some inspiration-like a boyfriend." He flirted, insulating his feelings for me.

My smile flattered a bit. I knew Mason has had a crush on me for a while now and I didn't want to lead him on. But I never got a chance to tell him anything because our conversation was interrupted by the sounds of squealing girls.

"OMG! He's here!" someone behind me shouted.

"AHH! Let me see!" someone else beside me screamed. Her shoulder bumped into mine slightly giving me a shove.

"Dimitri! Dimitri! Dimitri! AHH!"

Girls everywhere squealed and shoved trying to get to the front. I was almost trembled by pointy heels if it wasn't for Mason who pulled me out of the crowd. I stood in the far back wall, tucking strands of hair out of my eyes. It was weird to see all these girls be hot for Dimitri when a few months ago everybody knew him as a stoic guy and Galina's favorite student. I guess stardom really does change everything.

I poked my head over the screaming fans desperately trying to get a better view. I wasn't a lovesick girl like the rest of the girls, but I was curious to see how much Dimitri had changed physically. I mean, I knew he had changed. Nine months is a really long time for not able to see each other. Besides, I'd seen him in magazine covers, billboards, and commercials a few times around town but it wasn't the same as seeing him in life person.

Mason must have noticed my desperation because he waved his hand in front of my eyes in an attempt to get my attention. "Not you too?"

"Me, too, what?"

"You're hot for Belikov."

"No I am not. He's my best friend, why would I be hot for him?" I protested, though I wasn't one hundred percent sure if it that statement was true. I couldn't put a finger on exactly what I felt for my best friend to be honest.

Mason shrugged his shoulders casually and tucked his hands on the pockets of his pants like he was trying to look innocent for what he was about to say next. "Dunno. Because every girl does." he said, hints of jealousy could be traced in his voice.

Should I be offended by what he just said? My brain told me yes. Mason is supposed to one of my best friends, but he had no right to make those kinds of accusations about me. I folded my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't lump me with those girls, Ashford. I'm not like that." I said firmly so he would get the message.

Mason cocked an eyebrow at me like he was trying to figure out if I was joking or if I was being serious. Fortunately for me, he couldn't read me as easily as Dimitri could. Normally, Mason will ponder about it all week until he finally figures it out, and then call me out on it. That's how our relationship works. But something about this conversation felt awkward.

"AHH! They're here!"

That pulled me away from Mason. I poked my head once again over the crowd. The three guys stood at the entrance.

The one with a mop of blond hair, the exact shade as Lissa's, is Andre Dragomir. Her older brother. He's twenty-one and plays the keyboard for the extremely popular rock band, RDR. Occasionally, he sings back up for certain songs, but he's mostly known for playing complicated keys. That and his dazzling green eyes.

"Andre! It's Andre Oh my God!" shouted a few girls.

I couldn't help, but snort at their reaction. It's not like they have never seen him before, even though he attended Royal Arts for two years.

Andre's eyes swept over the crowd of girls cramped at the campus gates, a grin spreading across his face. He waved his arms excitedly trying to acknowledge everyone. Yup that was Andre for you.

Leaning towards Andre to whisper something stood Ivan Zeklos, Dimitri's best friend. He's also twenty-one, plays the drums, and like Andre, he sometimes sings back up. Ivan brushed a few locks of sandy brown hair that gracefully fell over his face, revealing a set of confused cerulean blue eyes as he nodded to whatever Andre had told him.

On Ivan's other side stood Christian Ozera with his jet black hair and icy blue eyes. He was the youngest member in the band, but he had many years of experience playing the electric guitar. Nobody could measure up to him. He made it seemed as if it was easy to play complex combinations on his guitar when it wasn't. I used to be jealous at his talent until I realized that complexity was his part of his passion. He wasn't trying to show off or anything like it. I guess it's one of the reasons why Lissa loves him too much. Because Christian wasn't as cocky as other guys at Royal Arts. Christian had leaned in on Ivan's and Andre's conversation as he watched the fan girls cautiously. I would too if I were him. There was no telling how hormones could affect a bunch of girls.

"Where's Dimitri?!" a girl next to me threw me toward her conversation as she asked her friend. I didn't notice it at first but she was right. Dimitri wasn't with the band nor could I see him standing outside through the glass doors of the entrance.

_Strange_, I thought to myself and continued to listen.

"I thought he was coming with the band." the friend noted.

"Yeah, he was. Mrs. Kirova told security to receive Dimitri and the band at the entrance." said the first girl.

"Is he still on the limousine?" the friend asked.

"No, the limousine just left."

"Then where is he?

Good question.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, and favored this story. A special thank you to everyone who was extremely patient with updates and the rewrite. This chapter is for you :)_

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_**Chapter Three**_

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Nothing has changed. He noted to himself as a half smile formed in lips. It was so strange to be standing in the dormitory that he hasn't been in for the past nine months. Yet, the familiarity of it made him feel comfortable.

It had white colored walls and ceiling. Heavily polished hardwood floors. A ceiling fan surrounded by a perimeter of round suspended lights.

In front of him stood the only brick wall with three high windows. Ruffled curtains hanged down loosely. Below the middle window was the only built-in bench that was occupied with throw pillows, hefty books, and a silver macbook laptop. On each opposite side of the bench stood two twin beds. The bed to the right had dark mocha satin bed sheets while the one to the left had dark red satin bed sheets. Each bed had its own matching pillow laying on top.

Of course, he knew which bed belong to his best friend. It wasn't hard to figure out when he has known Rose Hathaway for almost ten years.

Red has always been her favorite color. She's been obsessed with it ever since he could remember. Rose even went through a phase where she wore at least one piece of clothing that was red to school every day in the sixth grade. Otherwise, she would go haywire on him. His smile suddenly grew into an impish smile just by remembering those small things about Rose, which made him realized how much he truly missed her.

After a minute, he let his eyes wonder through the rest of the room and he allowed himself to take in the memories that came with them.

The wall to his left had a built in iron loft ladder that led up to the second floor. Through the dark wood railing, he could see the two familiar yet comfortable red Papasan chairs. He used to spend most of his time in those chairs playing music on his guitar while Rose improvised her own lyrics. They were only fooling around and being silly back then, but just being with Rose inspired him to write many of his hit songs today. Many in which she will never know they are about her, at least not directly.

Rose might know all of his deepest secrets and feelings, but what he has been feeling towards her lately was something he suddenly started masking from her, others, and himself. Especially when those feelings were iffy. For all he could know, being away from her for too long was making himself feel disorientated — out of place. But then again, that didn't explain why his heart would flutter every time he would think of her smile or the sound of her voice. Or how he always ends up writing a song about her.

Rose is one of his oldest best friends. They grew up together in Montana sharing the same dreams and love for music. So it was no surprised when he and Rose ended up attending one of the most prestigious performing arts universities in the nation. They were both talented in singing, and composing and playing music. But he strongly believed Rose had _that _extra spark that most record companies looked for in young aspiring artists. There something about the way she sang that touched everyone deep down in a way no one could.

How he ended up getting a recording contract with one of the top music agencies in the United States and Europe before Rose, he'll never understand. Not too long ago he was still a student at Royal Arts attending classes and performing at school showcases. His biggest worries then were getting passing grades and auditioning to be the main act on a showcase. Unfortunately, he would lose that position to Rose and he couldn't be anymore happier. She deserved it. He always thought she did.

But one performance at a downtown night club changed everything. Mr. Mazur also known as Zmey in the music industry heard him and his band played that night. Zmey was interested in them and offered his business card to set up a meeting. Andre who couldn't wait any longer gave Zmey a phone call the next day. They played three songs at a recording studio for Zmey and his associates and just like that RDR signed with Zmey Records.

From there things have accelerated in a good way for them. Their first album was recorded and completed within six months since they had been signed, which it was a huge hit among the female population. They went on tour the following year in Europe where their music has reached the top charts for ten weeks straight.

But he's back now.

He wanted—no, he needed to helped Rose reached her dreams too. She's the one and only who kept him sane the entire time he was on tour even if it was by phone. It would be nice if he could do something for her in return. After all wasn't that what friends did for each other?

Dimitri's eyes flickered to a huge poster that hanged next to the loft ladder catching his full attention. His smile flatter a bit when he realize the poster was of RDR. He wouldn't have never guessed in a millions of years that Rose Hathaway, the girl he grew up with, was a huge fan of him too. Rose idolized artists who made a big impact in the music industry, not some boy band starting out. Perhaps, she missed him as much as he missed her and that poster was some sort of closure. He rationalized.

He searched for the rest of the room for any other posters of him and RDR. Instead on the right side of the room, he only found the wall decorated with several portraits of historical and famous pianists. None in which he was familiar with except for Beethoven, and that was because he study Beethoven back in junior high school.

Dimitri wonder what Rose could be doing with such portraits when she used to fall asleep just by listening to Beethoven's No. 9 Symphony. She distaste classical and old western music.

His eyes dropped to the picture frames standing on top of the two-shelf bookcase. Maybe it was because he was too far away but he could have sworn those pictures were of Rose and unfamiliar blonde whom he was certain it wasn't Lissa Dragomir, Rose's other best friend.

To get a better look, Dimitri approached the bookcase. The blonde in the pictures was definitely not Lissa Dragomir. This blonde had a darker shade hair color and amber eyes. She appeared as a very serious person dressed in formal outfits and neutral colors. But there fact that this blonde was smiling in all the pictures with Rose was contradictive.

He wonder who this blonde was. How she knew Rose? What kind of friendship they had or if they even had a friendship at all?

Dimitri was never seen this blonde before, not even when he was still a student at Royal Arts. Perhaps, she just transferred and…

…Realization suddenly hit him as his eyes grew wide.

This blonde was Rose's new roommate. The dorm did looked a bit more organized and decorated than usual. Dimitri noticed. Rose used to leave sweaters and music sheets scattered all over the room. It used to amused him just watching Rose tear the entire room apart when she needed to find a completed song or her guitar's pick.

Unfortunately Abby Badica, Rose's previous roommate, would have fits whenever Rose searched through her things. It's one of the reasons why Abby moved out, that and the fact that she and Rose would argue a lot over just about everything. Even people residing in the same floor as them would hear the girls voicing out their anger toward each other almost every night. Dimitri vaguely recalls how everyone used to gossiped about how Rose would end up strangling Abby one day.

Fortunately, that was never the case when people on Rose's floor would knock on his door to complained and ask him to hushed the girls up. He did however, always end up dragging Rose back to his dorm just to be safe.

The day Abby decided to move in with Danielle Szelsky, who lived in a different floor, was like Christmas for everyone. That meant less arguing and more peaceful nights. Rose even had her own happy dance now that she had the dorm all to herself.

That didn't stop her from crashing at his dorm occasionally.

Dimitri didn't know what to think of Rose's new roommate. Yet.

He would have to meet her first. But from what he has seen already, he could tell that this girl was a pianist. The text books on pianos and keys occupying the bookshelves and the CDs on classical music piled up in a small box next to bookcase were a death give away.

Stepping away from the bookcase and tearing himself from the picture frames, Dimitri walked over to what he was certain it was Rose's desk and took a sit on the chair. There was still twenty minutes left before the school's assembly would end and he would have to deal with his band for not showing up.

A part of him didn't seemed to care though. It wasn't the first time he's missed an event such as this one. Ivan and Andre will probably lecture him on his commitment to fans while Christian will scorned him silently from a distance. All things he could resolve easily.

He just wasn't sure how Rose was going to handle it after he asked her to meet him in the lobby. He's never stood her up before, but he also couldn't deal with fans either. Sometimes, they can get a little too crazy.

Perhaps surprising Rose would make up for it. Dimitri consented with himself as he flipped through Rose's old music sheets. He almost forgotten what an amazing music composer she was. There was so much passion and emotion behind what she would write. He would have liked to see some of her newer stuff.

Knowing Rose would get pissed off and he would have to offer an apology afterwards, Dimitri searched through the drawers of her desk for songs he haven't seen before. Unfortunately what he found was unsettling. It made his hands balled up into fists while his jaw clenched hard and his eyes burned.

_What is she doing with him? _Was all he could ask.

_**~.~.YME.~.~**_

"So you really don't know where Dimitri is?" Meredith asked wistfully. She reached for her toes as she sat down on the hardwood floor to stretch her lower leg muscles. Meredith normally spends about twenty minutes warming up her muscles every afternoon before choreographing a dance routine for her performance class in dance.

I, as the supporting friend, would usually joined her. It was good exercise and it helped me improve on my own dance technique. Now I wasn't an expert in this kind of field like Meredith, but I would take dance to enhanced my performances on stage when I sing. The audience enjoys good entertainment and since not many aspiring singers at Royal Arts could dance, I stood out.

Unfortunately, today wasn't one of those days where I was being a supporting friend or was seeking to improve. I was actually hiding from Dimitri's crazy fan club.

They ambushed me at the lobby when Dimitri didn't made his grand entrance before the assembly started and ambushed me again when he did not showed up afterwards. It was overwhelming to hear billions of questions that I could not answer as these crazy girls directly screeched at my ears and invaded my personal space.

I was seconds away from throwing a few punches and kicks that Dimitri taught me when I was eight years old at them so they would back off or run away which ever one would have been fine. Luckily, Ivan came to rescue and announced that Dimitri's flight had been delayed. He and the guys apologized to the fans. Sure, they were all disappointed, but some of the crazier fans didn't believed a single word. They all thought I was part of some secret ploy to keep Dimitri hidden. To make matters worst, they have been stalking me at every corner ever since then.

I decided to hide in one of the dance studios in the hopes that none of Dimitri's crazy fans would think of searching for me in there. So, far it's worked until Mer brought up Dimitri. She was like many of the girls at Royal Arts, another fan. The only difference was that Meredith knew someone who knew Dimitri personally. Me.

I bit my lower lip as I sat next to her. I knew immediately where this conversation was going. She was trying to find out about Dimitri's whereabouts. Whether it was intentionally or not, I couldn't really give her an answer because honestly, I didn't know either. I was just as confused as everyone was.

"Mer I thought you were going to help me with my dance routine and I was going to help you with your vocals. That was our deal." I complained as I tried to divert her and stretched my own leg muscles.

"Yeah, yeah." Meredith waved me off. "But seriously, I'm curious. How could you not know? You've been Dimitri's best friend since…_forever_. You should know!" she screeched like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I frowned. Even if I was one of Dimitri's old friends and I have known him forever, I didn't know everything that happened in his life. We barely had time to speak on the phone to say hi and tease each other for a bit. We had much less time to catch up on everything else. He was always busy with his tour and I was— well, trying to write songs.

I wished people would stop making stupid assumptions. I had a life outside of Dimitri too, not in a bad or good way either. Just that I had my own identity as Rose Hathaway, young aspiring artist.

"Just because I'm his best friend it doesn't mean I know everything about him." I said, forcing a smile. "I haven't seen the guy in nine months."

Meredith frowned. "But—"

"—Can we please not talk about Belikov anymore? He hasn't arrived yet and the entire school has turned to Belikov-mania." Mason cut her off, sounding irritated. He fixed his white baseball cap so we couldn't see his eyes as he walked over to the corner of the room where Eddie Castile was flipping through CD's by the stereo.

He and Eddie had been at the dance studio longer than Meredith and me. Apparently, the guys thought it was more important to work on their choreography than to attend an assembly dedicated solely to Dimitri and RDR. Especially when all of the dancers at Royal Arts had the Dance Fest coming up in two weeks. The winners would have the opportunity to performance in a concert with a famous artist or a top dance company. It was still a surprise. Nothing less, this was a big thing for Mason, Eddie or even Meredith to get their names out there in the professional world of dance. Which explains why they have been working extra hard.

I just didn't understand why Mason was had been moody lately. He was being all flirty and playful with me right before the assembly. Now, he was being a jerk to Meredith. It didn't make sense. Mason has never snapped at her before, not even when he's mad or stressed out.

Something must be seriously wrong. I pursed lips together watching from afar as Mason and Eddie agreed on an uber beat.

"Geh, you don't have to bite my head off?" I heard Meredith muttered. She was on her feet straightening her shirt muttering more profanity.

"Don't mind him, Mer. He's probably stressing over the Dance Fest." I offered.

Meredith froze and started laughing like she knew something I didn't. "This isn't about the Dance Fest. Mase has bigger things to worry about than that."

_Bigger? _I blinked. What could be bigger than the Dance Fest? The way Shane Reyes and Dean Barnes would freaked out every time there was a Dance Fest, they make it seemed as their lives depend on it. Maybe I didn't understand because I wasn't a dancer like them just the same way they didn't understand how important school jams were for singers like me.

But then again, Meredith and Mason were singers too. They just recently started taking vocal lessons after Alberta discovered their hidden talent during the Winter Bliss Showcase last year. Adrian Ishakov was in need of backup singers after his had gotten sick from the stomach flu. Mason and Meredith volunteered to be his replacements even though they had never sang in front of an audience before. But they managed to do extremely well. Plus Mason and Meredith dance too which was a bonus for Adrian. After the showcase, Alberta advised both Mason and Meredith to audition for the music program and they did. They have been taking general and require vocal classes that all singers take ever since.

They also have a better understanding of singing showcases than what I have for dance showcases. Perhaps I'm really clueless…

Meredith must have recognized my bafflement because she suddenly stopped laughing. Her deep blue eyes stared at me cautiously for a minute before switching to amusement. Whatever she was concerning about was all gone now. Instead the corners of her mouth lifted into a upward smile.

"Ready to practice a pirouette?"

_**~.~.YME.~.~**_

I groaned as I dragged myself back to my dorm with aching muscles. It was so difficult to even try to lift a single arm or leg without feeling pain. Mason and the others might have overworked me excessively with combination moves for the past thirty minutes until I finally decided to call it day. I knew what I was getting myself when I asked Mason and my other dance buddies to teach me new moves. I had some training in modern jazz thanks to Viktoria, Dimitri's younger sister and it was nothing simple, but hip hop was torture. Mason actually thought it would be awesome if I could do the matrix move.

Awesome wouldn't begin to cover how I made myself look like a complete fool as I threw myself on the hardwood floor several times and ended up tangled up like a pretzel. I can't say I'm proud of the bruises that were probably starting to form wherever my muscles hurt. I didn't get the matrix down like I wished I did.

At least I learned other combination techniques that I could modified to fit the song I have been composing. The Dance Fest wasn't the only huge event coming up. The Shadow Kiss showcase as a month away and I needed to audition for the main act soon. I needed all of the practice and new dance moves I could get but not right now or least not for the next day or two. I needed the pain to ease up first.

I sighed tiredly as I closed the door behind me and turned the switched on. My roommate was still out. She was probably in one of the practice rooms playing the piano. The pianists at Royal Arts normally isolated themselves from everyone and spend a great deal practicing. They hardly conversed with anyone or make any friends. In fact it took me a while to get my roommate out of her shell before she started to warm up to me. Now we were good friends.

At least I won't hear any complaints from her as I take the shower with the loud music. I smiled to myself. Sydney doesn't like hear any music that is not classical because she says that everything else is bad taste and dreadful. She can't stand to hear it and we sometimes have arguments about it. But she's supportive when I perform at school's jams.

As I searched from my drawers for something comfortable to wear I could have sworn I heard a vibrating noise from a cell phone coming from Syd's closet.

Strange. I thought to myself. Sydney wasn't the type of girl who would hid in the closet to make a phone call. If anything, she would be talking on the phone in a practice room since it's sound proof and no one could hear her.

Maybe I imagined it.

I shrugged it off and pulled out a blue cami shirt.

I heard another noise coming from closet but this time it sounded like a floor squeaked. It reminded me of the sound someone makes when they switch their weight on their feet.

Realization suddenly hit me as I froze on my spot.

Maybe somebody was inside the closet, spying on me. Perhaps one of Dimitri's crazy fans. The thought of being stalked again made my skin crawled.

A normal person would have screamed and called for security to dragged the stalker out of the room. But I then again I wasn't normal.

I walked toward the closet quietly and cautiously to catch the stalker off guard. Maybe word get out and all these crazy fans will finally leave me alone.

Everything happened so fast after that. The next thing I knew I had yanked the door opened and a figure jumped out at me. On instinct, I swung my fist square on the mouth of the person. The only thing I heard was something cracking and profanity words being shouted in a native yet familiar language.

It took me a second to recognized who standing in front of me cupping his jaw.

Dimitri Belikov.

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***Don't forget to review :)**

**And check out the webpage for this story for extra information at (royalstarz. weebly. com )**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__Okay, I'll make this short and brief. I can't update twice a week. My schedule is busy especially with midterms coming up in two weeks, but I'm going to try to have weekly updates on Sundays until things slow in the real world, then I'll update Wednesdays & Sundays. No promises though._

_Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the previous chapter and to those who have been extremely patient with the repositing. ****__Also check out the website for this story at royalstarz. weebly. com (no spaces), for character information, pics, etc (Remember this story was written before the cast for the offical VA movie were chosen, so my cast choice are different). With not further due, I leave you to enjoy the story :)_

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_**Chapter Four**_

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Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge and turned around. I spotted Dimitri sitting in my bed flipping through his cell phone. I frowned at knowing that maybe he had somewhere important to be and I was keeping him in my dorm trying helplessly to stop the bruising in his jaw from getting any worse. It was slightly greenish and starting to get darker. A bag of ice would have been a better remedy, but we didn't have any in the dorm. Only cold water bottles that Sydney and I would stash in the mini fridge every other week. I hope that would do.

I held the water bottle up making him to suddenly peered at me. Dimitri took it off my hands and mumbled a "_Thanks_."

I nodded and sat down next him fiddling with my fingers nervously. I couldn't find the right words to apologize. I was never good at this sort of thing because I was too stubborn to swallow my pride, even if I was wrong. Fortunately for me, Dimitri knew me too well and he would find a way to ease me into an apology inconspicuously.

"I knew someday I would regret teaching you how to fight," Dimitri joked, pressing the surface of the water bottle against his jaw.

I flinched when I heard him hissing at the pain and started muttering—what I assumed to be more profanity words in Russian—to himself. Dimitri never cursed whenever I was in the room. He found it offensive and disrespectful. That's how Olena raised him. But every once in a while those words would slip and sometimes he would try to covered it up by speaking in Russian.

I picked up several of the words over years and used them against him whenever we got in an argument. Though I never knew what I was shouting at him, it was my best effort to shut him up. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it would make things worse. But in the end we would always apologize to each other with bearing cookie dough ice cream and brownies as gifts.

_Fun times_. I sigh wistfully remembering the look of our stuffed faces and the after pain of a crammed stomach. I would have laughed at Dimitri's and my childish stupidity if I wasn't feeling guilty at the moment.

"Though you might want work on looking up before throwing a punch. It makes you seem reckless," He shook his head. He tried to keep a death serious face as he did so, but failed. Amusement registered in his eyes.

"Oh come on, Comrade. I thought you would have been proud that I stopped a burglar from jumping me." I joked, nudging his ribs.

Dimitri snorted. "What burglar?"

"Well, when somebody breaks into somebody else's dorm and hides in the closet that's called burglary," I tried explaining.

"It's not burglary when _that _somebody had to break in his best friend's dorm to surprise her," Dimitri gave me a small innocent shrug and concentrated on pressing the water bottle to his face.

Surprise? I blinked and let it all sink in. The way he said it sounded so sweet. I almost broke into my goofiest grin except the sight of his bruise ruined that. I felt even guiltier I had punched my best friend after he went through the trouble to do something nice for me.

I really was a bad a friend. I grimaced. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide in there forever.

Dimitri must have known what I was thinking because I felt him reach for my hand and gave it a squeeze like he telling me in a silent gesture not to worry. That there were no hard feelings.

My cheeks started heating up as my eyes focused on our intertwined fingers. I felt like an eight year old girl, who didn't know what to do with a crush she had on a boy. Nervous. Despite the fact that this was not the first time we have held hands before, there was something intimate about it, which was impossible because Dimitri was my best friend. There was nothing going on between us besides a solid, old friendship.

"You could have just called," I teased, giving his hand a brief squeeze before letting go.

He laughed. "And ruined the surprise? Where's the fun in that?"

I started to say, '_Oh, as if_,' but instead I found myself saying, oddly, "You could have been seriously hurt. I mean, what if I did something more than just a punch? I bet you wouldn't have been laughing now."

My seriousness seemed to strike some chord. His laughter ceased, and I found that we were simply looking at each other longer than usual. Dimitri looked uncertain, almost vulnerable like he didn't know how to respond. That threw me off. Dimitri was the wisest out the two, always giving me Zen life lessons since I was ten years old. To see him like this made me worry a bit.

"Roza…" His voice snapped me out of own thoughts.

There was no reason for my heart to skip a beat or two as he called me by my Russian name. But it was. It constricted and twisted through my insides. I thought I was going to explode.

I swallowed. "Yeah?"

He opened his mouth—and then he got up abruptly, his brown eyes were dark and fathomless. "You're right. I should be proud of you that you were able to stop some big guy that could have overpowered you easily even if it was just me," he said lightly. "But at least I don't have worry about keeping you safe from your own crazy fans when you become famous and all. You can do that well on your own." Dimitri smiled at me. It was a smile other people rarely saw, not a taunting or ironic grin, but a nice half smile, slightly crooked.

I deflated. "Yeah about that —I don't think I'm going to become famous or sign a recording contract any time soon."

"Why is that?" It was Dimitri's turn to look confused.

Because I haven't been able to compose any new songs for months and Alberta had to cancel several of my meetings with recording agencies. Now, I was being forced to take voice coaching with the meanest professor who hates me. I was a total failure that's why. I couldn't tell him any of those things though. It was too embarrassing to admit I was having trouble and possibly needed help especially not to Dimitri who is more than just my best friend. He's a famous rock star. What would he think of me if he knew?

Thankfully I didn't have to say anything. A knock sounded on the door and I excused myself to open it.

"If it's a crazy fan, don't let her in?" Dimitri called out from his spot, chuckling.

"How do you know it's a girl? It could be a guy waiting for me, you know," I meant it as a joke but the silence I was receiving from Dimitri told me I had pushed it too far.

Dimitri never took my choices on boyfriends lightly. Ever since I started dating at fifteen, he took the initiative to interrogate guys I liked and chased away the ones he greatly disapproved of. I knew Dimitri was looking after me at the time, but I still went behind his back several times and dated guys he didn't approved of which only caused problems in our friendship. As I got older, Dimitri eventually stepped back and gave me space to choose whoever I wanted to date.

That didn't mean he liked it though. Dimitri would act rudely to any guy I dated or he would try to convinced me to break up with the any guy by pointing out alll of the bad things. Since then anything that had to do with boyfriends was a topic I cautiously or hardly spoke about to Dimitri because it would set him in a bad mood. He tends to act like immature child when it came to these things, which is why the topic on guys was reserved solely for Lissa.

I wasn't sure how to handle Dimitri not liking a guy waiting for me. Should I be insulted that Dimitri sometimes treated me like a child and tries to dictate my dating life? Or should I consider that Dimitri is jealous of another guy? No, I shook my head. I shouldn't be thinking that way.

All of my jammed thoughts suddenly stopped when my eyes landed on Ivan, Andre, and Christian. They stood in front of me looking tall and casual though, Christian was scorning a bit.

What are doing here? I asked myself mentally. I wasn't close to any of them as I was with Dimitri so there was no reason for them to pay me an unexpected visit.

I was about to ask them but Christian beat me to it.

"I told you he would be here," he said dryly.

_**~.~.YME.~.~**_

"I don't see what the big deal is. It was only one school assembly," Dimitri reasoned, following Ivan down the hall to the elevator. Andre and Christian trailed closely behind listening to the discussion.

Ivan was not pleased to have found Dimitri in Rose's dorm the entire time they had to sit through a tedious assembly. He's not saying it was bad or anything. The fans and professors were all welcoming like they have always been. Tasha Ozera even gave an impressive performance with special effects and everything. Ivan was sure she was going to have a bright future in the music industry.

It was the fact that he had to vouched Dimitri and lied to everyone including Mrs. Kirova and Zmey for Dimitri's own benefit. Ivan hated lying like that especially when it was becoming more frequent lately and Zmey was getting suspicious. It was too much pressure to handle.

There were several times when Ivan thought about quitting. It would be much easier if he did. He could finish college and perhaps become a music teacher instead. Didn't that life sounded better?

Ivan frowned at his own question. He couldn't abandon his band. That he was certain of. They worked too hard to get where they were. He would be making the worst mistake by quitting when their career had just taken off and leave the band in the gutters. Plus, Dimitri, Andre, and Christian were his best friends. He couldn't leave without giving them some sort of warning. Why couldn't Dimitri see that when he made selfish decisions?

Ivan sighed exasperatedly. "That's just it, Dimitri. It wasn't just _a _school assembly. We made a promise to Mrs. Kirova that would all be present."

He pressed the button on the elevator to go down. He and the band were commuting outside of Royal Arts in a penthouse located three blocks from the school for security reasons. Ivan was glad he didn't have to worry about explaining to Mrs. Kivora why Dimitri had broken many rules in one night if they lived in the dorms. Choosing to live in a penthouse was one of the best decisions they had made so far.

"I'm sure Mrs. Kivora doesn't mind. She knows how crazy our lives are right now," Dimitri explained.

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"That you bailed on us. _Again,"_ Christian interjected rudely. All eyes turned to face him.

He kept a facade expression. Everyone was thinking it. Ivan was just being more cautious with his choice of words so he wouldn't piss off Dimitri. Ivan and Dimitri were best friends after all. But that didn't mean Christian had be vague about it too. It wasn't his style. Dimitri needed to know the band wasn't okay with him bailing on them every time he felt like it. It wasn't fair. If one of them didn't show up to an interview or concert without a valid explanation, Dimitri would have yelled at them. Why couldn't they do the same thing to him?

Andre seemed to agree with Christian's approach as he shook his head in agreement and decided to speak up. "Which we shouldn't be surprised. You bailed on us whenever you feel like it," he corrected.

"I had a valid reason," Dimitri replied.

"What, Rose?" Christian laughed but it was filled with anger. "You could have talked to her after the assembly. Unlike you, she was actually there."

Dimitri's expression suddenly darkened at Christian's words. So he missed a school's assembly, were they going to hold it against him now? It wasn't like he was the one to agree to it. That was their publicist's entire idea to recover from an incident that occured in Russia. He shouldn't be blamed for something he never said he would do.

"That would have taken the entire fun of it," Dimitri said lightly as he tried to lower the tension in the hallway. It was getting slightly uncomfortable

Infuriation registered on the faces of his friends followed by a mix of frustration and disappointment. They knew exactly what Dimitri was attempting to do. It wasn't hard to figure out when they had been living together 24/7 for the past nine months. Reading each other's intentions came easily after all that time. And even though, they hated the tension that was building up between them as much as Dimitri did, they weren't too pleased to see Dimitri not take their discussion seriously. It's what got him in trouble in the first place.

"Fun?" Andre blurred out, not taking a minute let it all sink in. "Are you serious? We went through that whole humiliation with the fans to cover for you so you could have fun?"

When Dimitri gave them a small indifferent shrug as an answer, Christian exploded.

"See, this is the problem!" he threw his hands angrily. "We talked about it in the meeting. He's selfish, irresponsible, and he's always bailing on us," he pointed the accusing finger at Dimitri as he said those things. "We can't keeping covering for him just so he could have his _fun_."

Dimitri's eyes flickered to Christian semi-confused. He dismissed all of the accusations and focused only the most important he heard Christian say since the discussion started.

"What meeting?" he questioned, watching carefully the uncomfortable looks he was receiving from his friends. Dimitri wondered if he was even supposed to hear that.

"The band meeting we had," Christian growled shortly and turned his head away like a child giving the silent treatment to his best friend because they couldn't agree.

"You guys had a band meeting without me?" Dimitri repeated. His voice sounded hurt, almost betrayed. They nodded their answers.

Dimitri never expected for his friends to meet and talked about him behind his back. They were usually straight with him as they were doing now. Dimitri wasn't sure if he should be upset or angry with them. Instead his rock star echo directed him to take the latter. "I'm the lead singer. Why wasn't I told about it?" he demanded.

Andre imitated Dimitri and gave him a small insignificant shrug to make a point. "Why weren't you at the assembly?"

That response earned Andre a death glare from Dimitri. It felt like they were walking in circles again. He didn't care about an assembly that had been over an hour ago. He wanted to know why his band betrayed him the way they did. Dimitri turned to Ivan for an explanation because no matter how intense their conversations got Ivan always took his side. Or so he thought.

"Look man, we discussed it as a band. If you don't start picking up your act we're going to have to replace you."

That was it. All eyes were on Dimitri waiting for a reaction.

Unfortunately, they didn't received one.


End file.
